Any Gout Sufferers?

[Westy]

To keep it short, I have had Gout for several years, but the intensity and frequency of the attacks has become,,,basically, unbearable. I have reluctantly accepted a prescription from my doctor for Allopurinol. Reluctantly because I have always been very anti-drug,,,even the prescription kind. So here's the question. Anyone here taking Allopurinol, and are there any side effects that you have noticed?

Thanks in advance. I'm going to go whine like a baby now. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

[Drago]

I don't have gout but I do have neuropathy in my feet so I can understand the pain your going through fairly well. A couple of nights ago my wife all but insisted I go to the ER because of the pain.

[Drdogface]

Well, I'm a Vet, not a physician, but I do know a little about Gout. It's caused, as you likely know, by the crystalization of uric acid in the joint...usually the big toe. Very painful I have heard. Allopurinal has been used for decades as a treatment.

When I want to know the details about a drug I'm told to take I just Google it like, "Allopurinal side effects". You'll get tons of hits...some in non-tech lingo. Read a few and see if you can deal with whatever the side effects are.

I'm sure an MD will chime in here pretty soon, though...or even better,a Pharmacist.

Here's a page from a Google search that might help:

www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=18659&name=ALLOPURINOL

Looks basically pretty harmless to me...

[lendaddy]

Goat.....he can be a little overbearing at times sure, but I wouldn't say I suffer him.

[Westy]

Hey Len,,,have that cute little fella ram that nice lil horn up ur uknowhat, then twist it a little bit. After you get done with the expletive deleteds, you can honestly say, "I feel your pain." hehehe

That's a great picture. Not just good, but great!

[targa911S]

I wish my eyes were like that. Very cool.

[JavaBrewer]

I've been sitting on a perscription for Allopurinol for a couple months now. My uric acid levels came back really high 3 months ago. We had a dinner party the night before tests were taken so I'm wondering if the mass quantity of wine I drank that night had an effect? I'm going in for retests next Tuesday. I really hate adding yet another long term drug to my routine. I'm only 43 and am already on Lipitor for HC (upper 400's untreated) but that is another story.

[Scooter]

Originally posted by Drago
I don't have gout but I do have neuropathy in my feet so I can understand the pain your going through fairly well. A couple of nights ago my wife all but insisted I go to the ER because of the pain.

I thought things were getting better? Might be time to start drinking again.

[Noah930]

Side effects include: Rash, liver and kidney damage, bone marrow suppression. The last 3 are not common. Just make sure you get periodic blood tests.

I've had gout for awhile. It's pretty frustrating, so I sympathize. I don't get it regularly enough to make it worthwhile to take Allopurinol. But I did have it for about 7 weeks straight after I broke my foot a couple years ago. I usually just take 800 of motrin every 8 hours. This regimen is not recommended for long-term use, though. Do as I say, not as I do.

Personally, diet has no effect on my flares of gout.

[azasadny]

Thanks for the good info!

[jyl]

I've had some troubles w/ gout, was a longish thread about it. A few things I learned:
- colchicine (sp?) is a drug used for gout flares. You take it at the first sign of a flare. I use it when my condition acts up and it seems to work. Some people have side-effects (gastric) to colchicine, I don't.
- allopurinol is a drug that you take chronically, to control the ongoing condition. There is a new drug called Uloric (febuxostat) that is an alternative. I don't take either.
- There is at least one other gout drug in development, that will be an alternative to or maybe a supplement to allopurinol, if it is approved but that's a couple years off.

I tried changing my diet, didn't seem to make any difference.

My several-month long attack was quite demoralizing, plus I gained nearly 20 lbs from inactivity while on crutches/cane.

It is a painful disease, I found out, and I don't even have classic gout. Good luck.